Apparatus for dry footing and sanding ceramic pieces and method of using same

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for removing paint and dipping glaze from ceramic pieces before they are fired includes a support having an opening passing through it. Located in the opening is a rigid carrier which air can readily pass through. The carrier supports a porous, abrasive pad. A vacuum device attached to the support pulls air through the pad. In use the foot of a ceramic piece coated with dipping glaze or the lip of a painted ceramic piece is placed on the pad and the ceramic article is moved in a circular motion to remove the dipping glaze or unwanted paint. The vacuum device pulls the resulting dust through the pad where it can be disposed of.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an apparatus for dry footing or for creating a sharp line between paint that has been applied to the inside and outside surfaces of a ceramic piece before the piece is fired.

In a ceramic studio, paints, which are called “underglazes,” are used to decorate a fired ceramic piece known as bisqueware. After the bisqueware or ceramic piece is painted, the entire ceramic piece is dipped in a clear dipping glaze and thoroughly dried before being placed in a kiln. Before a ceramic piece is placed on the kiln shelf, it either needs to be stilted on a small kiln stilt which has a ceramic base with tiny metal points sticking up from it to support the ceramic piece and keep it from touching the kiln shelf, or the ceramic piece needs to be dry footed which entails removing the dipping glaze and/or underglaze from the bottom or “foot” of the ceramic piece so that the piece will not adhere itself to the kiln shelf because the underglazes or dipping glazes would permanently adhere the ceramic piece to the kiln shelf if the two surfaces touched during firing. The foot or bottom of the ceramic piece might have a raised rim from the manufacturing of the piece or it may just have a flat bottom. The usual process in ceramic studios is to stilt the pieces in the kiln or to remove the glaze from the bottom of the ceramic pieces by hand sanding or rubbing the bottom with an abrasive pad. The procedure of dry footing creates glaze dust which is then introduced into the air that is breathed in the studio as well as producing unsightly dust.

In addition, the inside of a ceramic piece is often painted with one color and the outside of the ceramic piece is painted with another color (a cup or bowl, for example). This creates a dilemma with having the colors “meet” at the top lip of the piece with a clean, sharp definition between the two colors, thereby giving the ceramic piece a professional, finished look.

The subject invention solves both of these problems by providing an apparatus which facilitates the removal of the dipping glaze from the foot of a ceramic piece or sanding the top lip of a ceramic piece to remove paint from it, and simultaneously collects the resulting dust. A support has an opening passing through it and a carrier which will readily pass air is located in the opening below the top surface of the support. A porous, abrasive pad fits in the opening on top of the carrier. A vacuum device attached to the support pulls air through the pad. The device is used by placing the foot of a ceramic piece covered with dipping glaze, or the lip of a painted ceramic piece that has not yet been dipped into dipping glaze downwardly on top of the pad and moving it around the pad to remove the dipping glaze or paint. The dust that is generated by this process is drawn through the pad by the vacuum device where it is collected and then can be disposed of.

The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for dry footing or removing paint from ceramic pieces embodying the subject invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a prospective view of a cup showing the foot that will be sanded on the apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a prospective view of a bowl showing the lip that will be sanded on the subject apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a support 10 has an opening 12 which extends through it. The support 10 can be a countertop, tabletop or any self-supporting flat surface. The opening 12 is shown in the drawings as being rectangular, but it could have almost any shape. Located in the opening 12 is a carrier 14 which covers the entire opening. The carrier is located below the top surface 16 of the support 10. In the embodiment illustrated the carrier is a metal grate having a plurality of holes 18 passing through it. A piece of expanded sheet metal works well for this purpose. However, the carrier can be almost anything which has enough rigidity to carry a pad, which will be described later, and is open enough that air will readily pass through it. In the embodiment illustrated the support contains a ledge 20, which extends around the periphery of the opening 12, that the carrier rests on. The carrier could be supported in the support other ways as well.

Located on top of the carrier is a porous, abrasive pad 22. Pads of this type are well known in the prior art. A typical pad of this type is the SCOTCH-BRITE pad which is used as a hand pad for cleaning purposes. The SCOTCH-BRITE pad is made from three-dimensional non-woven nylon webs which are impregnated with abrasive minerals. The pad 22 is sized to fit in the opening above the carrier 14 and substantially fill the opening. The pad has a thickness which causes its upper surface 24 to be flush with or slightly above the top surface 16 of the support 10.

Attached to the bottom of the support 10 below the opening 12 is a shell 26. The shell forms a plenum 28 whose inlet is the opening 12. The outlet of the plenum is a tube 30 which is connected to a vacuum device having a dust collection container, all shown schematically at 32. The collection container can either be a container that is emptied when full or a disposable bag which is replaced when it is full. When the vacuum device is operated air is drawn into the plenum through the pad 22.

One use of the apparatus is to dry foot ceramic pieces by removing the dipping glaze from the annular rim 34, or foot, at the bottom of the ceramic piece after the dipping glaze has dried but before the piece is fired in a kiln, FIG. 3. This is accomplished by setting the ceramic piece on the pad 22 with the foot 34 facing down and moving the piece around on the pad while applying a light downward pressure. This provides a quick, efficient way to dry foot a ceramic piece which results in a foot which is cleanly defined and results in a finished appearance. In addition, the ceramic dust resulting from this sanding of the foot 34 is drawn through the pad 22 and into the vacuum device dust collection container 32.

Another use of the apparatus is to remove paint from the top lip 36 of a ceramic piece, FIG. 4, before the piece is covered with dipping glaze and is fired. This is accomplished by placing the ceramic piece on the pad 22 with the lip 36 facing downwardly and sanding it in the same manner as the foot 34 is sanded in the previous example. This process creates a clean, sharp definition between the two colors, which again results in a more desirable finished appearance of the ceramic piece.

The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow. 

1. An apparatus for removing paint and dipping glaze from a ceramic piece before it is fired, comprising: (a) a support having an opening defined therein, said support having an upper surface; (b) a carrier, which is configured to readily pass air therethrough, and is located in said opening below said upper surface; (c) a porous, abrasive pad which fits in said opening on top of said carrier, said pad having a planar upper surface; and (d) a vacuum device attached to said support in a manner such that it pulls air through said pad.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said pad comprises a plurality of non-woven nylon webs impregnated with abrasive minerals.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said carrier is a thin grate.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said grate is a piece of expanded metal.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said support is a tabletop.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said opening is rectangular.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the upper surface of said pad is slightly above the upper surface of said support.
 8. A method for dry footing a ceramic piece before it is fired, comprising: (a) providing a porous, abrasive pad; (b) placing a surface of a ceramic piece which is to be dry footed on an upper surface of said pad and moving the ceramic article around on said pad; (c) applying a vacuum below said pad to pull any dust created by dry footing said ceramic piece through said pad; and (d) collecting the dust pulled through said pad by said vacuum.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein said pad comprises a plurality of non-woven nylon webs impregnated with abrasive materials.
 10. A method for removing paint from the top lip of a painted ceramic piece before applying dipping glaze, comprising: (a) Providing a porous, abrasive pad; (b) placing the lip of a ceramic piece from which paint is to be removed on an upper surface of said pad and sanding the ceramic piece, moving it around on said pad; (c) applying a vacuum below said pad to pull any dust created by sanding said ceramic piece through said pad; and (d) collecting the dust pulled through said pad by said vacuum.
 11. The method of claim 10 wherein said pad comprises a plurality of non-woven nylon webs impregnated with abrasive materials.
 12. A method for creating a sharp, even line between a first color of paint which is applied on the inside surface of a ceramic piece and a second color of paint which is applied on the outside surface of the piece before the dipping glaze is applied to the article and the piece is fired, said method comprising: (a) providing a porous, abrasive pad; (b) placing the surface of the ceramic piece which is between said inner and outer surface on said pad and moving the ceramic piece around on said pad; (c) applying a vacuum below said pad to pull any dust created by moving said ceramic piece on said pad through said pad; and (d) collecting the dust pulled through said pad by said vacuum. 